The Skenes-Ashcraft Duo Should Have Pirates Fans Salivating

Even before his major league debut, Skenes’ reputation spoke for itself, following unparalleled dominance in college and the minor leagues.

The 23-year-old is frequently praised among the most prodigious players of our generation, and has backed that assertion with a Baseball Savant page covered in dark red.

The reigning Cy-Young Award winner — and a former Rookie of the Year — has already accumulated 11.6 fWAR through just 349.2 innings pitched, and has led the majors with a 2.01 ERA since his first appearance on a big-league mound. The next pitchers — Tarik Skubal and Hunter Brown — sit 28 points higher than Skenes at 2.39.

What makes Skenes so dominant is, well, everything.

The right-hander fires his fastball with an average velocity of 97.1 MPH (or higher in past years), with over 12.9 inches of induced horizontal break. After being paired with five other pitches (changeup, sinker, sweeper, splitter, curveball), hitters are left with almost no idea what’s coming toward them at the plate.

Skenes also strikes opposing hitters out over 27% of the time, all while limiting walks, average exit velocity, and barrels. There isn’t much to analyze with Skenes; it’s the consensus view that he could go down as one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history, and he alone is a building block that can help a franchise reach the promised land.

Luckily, Skenes isn’t alone atop the rotation.

Braxton Ashcraft

Braxton Ashcraft first made noise on a major league roster last season, where he spent the majority of his time as a long-relief option out of the bullpen.

While Ashcraft contributed in a limited role in 2025, much of his best stuff was on display. By year’s end, he posted a 2.71 ERA, 2.78 FIP, and 1.25 WHIP, while striking out 71 opposing hitters in 69.2 IP.

Ashcraft’s ability to limit loud contact has been monumental in his success so far, and has continued to be a strong suit out of the gates this season. Last year, opposing hitters’ average exit velocity against Ashcraft was just 88.0 MPH, ranking in the 80th percentile.

Now, Ashcraft is holding hitters to an 89.0 MPH average exit velocity, while ranking in the 85th percentile of hard-hit percentage (31.1%) and 83rd percentile of barrel rate (4.1%).

Accompanying Ashcraft’s encouraging contact against metrics are increasing strikeout numbers, which have helped lead to a 2.43 ERA and 2.06 xERA in 29.2 innings pitched to start the season. In 2026, Ashcraft is striking out 27.6% of opposing hitters, placing him in the 80th percentile. He’s also inducing swing-and-misses 30.9% of the time, while leading hitters to chase 33.8% of pitches.

The 26-year-old’s five-pitch arsenal has developed significantly over the course of the past two seasons, which has been another development aiding Ashcraft’s success story.

So far, the right-hander has attacked hitters primarily with his four-seam, while relying on his curveball, slider, sinker, and splitter as well. Of those offerings, opponents have managed an xWOBA over .279 against just one: the sinker.

Ashcraft concluded his 2025 campaign looking like a strong candidate for Pittsburgh’s rotation, with potential to contribute in an above-average regard. Now, after an offseason of work, he’s stepped up his game and shown to be a clear-cut ace in the making.

How They Stack Up

As things currently stand, the Pirates’ pitching duo is one of five pairs among MLB’s top 20 in ERA. They are joined by the Yankees (Cam Schlittler and Max Fried), the Padres (Randy Vásquez and Michael King), the Rays (Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen), and the Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto).

Simply being in the same conversation as the aforementioned pitchers is a feat in itself, and neither Skenes nor Ashcraft is showing any sign of stopping.

When you look at past World Series winners, it seems like each squad did, in fact, enjoy contributions from an absurdly strong one-two punch. Now, I’m not saying the Pirates are en route to becoming World Series champions, but don’t count them out with Skenes and Ashcraft at the helm.